Michelle Swanson-Mungerson, Ph.D.

Research Area #1: Advances in our treatment options for Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) are critical in light of the fact that the incidence of HL is on the rise, due to an increase of HL in AIDS patients. Virtually all cases of HIV-associated HL tumors are infected with Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), indicating that EBV is essential for developing the tumor microenvironment in these individuals. This HL tumor microenvironment is absolutely vital for the survival of the malignant Hodgkin-Reed Sternberg (HRS) cells of HL. The current dogma is that EBV infects B cells that are the precursors of the HRS cells, and promotes initial HRS cell survival through the expression of the EBV protein, LMP2A. However, once the microenvironment is established, the ability of LMP2A to contribute to the tumor microenvironment that is vital for HRS survival remains unknown. The long term goal of our laboratory is to understand how EBV influences the tumor microenvironment in HL in order to develop novel strategies to enhance HL treatment success. More recently, we are addressing if LMP2A confers resistance to immunotherapies commonly used in lymphoma patients. 


Keywords: Virology, Cancer, Immunology